Kokkinakis, Tomic lead Aussie hopes in Roland Garros qualifying

Six Australians begin their French Open qualifying campaigns tonight in Paris.

Paris, France, 21 May 2018 | tennis.com.au

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Bernard Tomic are among six Australians beginning their quest to qualify for the French Open in Paris tonight (from 6pm AEST). Jason Kubler, Akira Santillan, Alex Bolt and Marc Polmans also feature in first round qualifying action.

John-Patrick Smith is scheduled to play his first round qualifying match tomorrow. All need to win three rounds to join Nick Kyrgios, John Millman, Matthew Ebden, Jordan Thompson, James Duckworth and wildcard Alex De Minaur in the main draw of the year’s second Grand Slam tournament.

BERNARD TOMIC (AUS) v DARIAN KING (BAR)Court 6, fifth matchAfter reaching an ATP Challenger final on clay earlier this month, No.208-ranked Bernard Tomic is aiming to continue his career revival in Paris. The 25-year-old faces a familiar opponent in Barbados’ Darian King, a No.167-ranked 26-year-old who won their only previous meeting in Memphis last year.

JASON KUBLER (AUS) v GONCALO OLIVEIRA (POR)Court 9, fourth match
Resurgent former world No.1 junior Jason Kubler has climbed to No.160 after returning from a sixth knee operation. The 25-year-old from Queensland faces left-handed world No.221 Goncalo Oliveira in his first match at Roland Garros since 2015.

AKIRA SANTILLAN (AUS) v GO SOEDA (JPN)Court 15, first match (beginning at 6pm AEST)World No.211-ranked Santillan, a 20-year-old from Brisbane, faces Japanese veteran Go Soeda, a world No.179-ranked 33-year-old, in the first round. It will be their first career meeting.

ALEX BOLT (AUS) v TOBIAS KAMKE (GER)Court 15, third matchIn his Roland Garros debut, No.178-ranked Alex Bolt has drawn 31-year-old German world No.224 Tobias Kamke in the first round. The 25-year-old South Australian has never played Kamke, a former world No.64 with a 0-4 record on clay so far this year.

MARC POLMANS (AUS) v ULADZIMIR IGNATIK (BLR)Court 15, fourth matchThe No.176-ranked Polmans arrives in Paris with an impressive 32-8 win-loss season record. The 21-year-old Victorian, attempting to qualify for his first Grand Slam main draw, plays Belarusian world No.203 Uladzimir Ignatik in the first round.

Women’s qualifying matches begin on Tuesday. Arina Rodionova is the top-ranked Australian player in the draw, and is joined by Olivia Rogowska, Lizette Cabrera, Priscilla Hon and Destanee Aiava.